Cavendish Update 3/14/14 SB Mtg/News/Tag Sale/Events

This issue of the Cavendish Update is made possible by the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association (CCCA), a non-profit membership organization that is dedicated to the conservation of land and natural resources and to the preservation of historic sites within the context of sustainable economic growth. FMI: PO Box 605, Cavendish VT 05142 or 802-226-7736

Information can also be posted on the Cavendish VT Facebook Page 

The 3/14/14 Cavendish Update Contains the Following

1. Select Board Meeting 3/10/14

2. Cavendish Related News

3. Fourth Annual Cavendish Town Wide Tag Sale

4. Penguin Hill Ski Tow-Proctorsville

5. Getting What You Need in Cavendish: Checklist Updated

6. Annual Sugar on Snow Supper

7. Events

1. SELECT BOARD MEETING 3/10/14

Select board (SB) meetings are recorded by LPC-TV and are available at their website and on Comcast Television. 

A. Organizational Plan: Following March Town Meeting, the new SB first conducted their annual organizational meeting. With the exception of the following changes, the results are similar to what appears on page 9 of the 2013 Annual Report: Clerk of the SB- Mike Ripley; Inspectors of Lumber-Wayne Gilcris; Alternative to Regional Planning Council Dan Willey; Solid Waste Rep-Brendan McNamara; SB Rep to the Planning Commission-Wendy Reiger; Rep Regional Trans. Advisory Comm- John Saydeck. The Organizational Plan, as adopted by the SB appears on-line.

B. Cavendish Gulf Road Stabilization: As a result of Irene, a retaining wall along the Gulf Rd-near the overpass-has become destabilized. Engineers from VHB Engineering and Vtrans talked to the SB about the proposed repairs, which should take place this summer. Because the railroad is active, Green Mountain Railroad wants the project completed in 72 hours. This will require 24-hour construction and materials on site. Because of the staging of materials, the Cavendish Gulf Rd., will be closed for approximately two weeks. Signs will be posted at the Whitesville/Gulf Road intersection and the intersection of Densmore Rd and the Gulf Rd. The Whitesville/Densmore Road will be open.

The current stonewall will be replaced by a concrete one, made up of concrete blocks measuring 3x3x6. Graffiti was raised as a concern and it was acknowledged that this most likely will happen as it’s hard to get around.

Staging and bringing items to the work site will be discussed with the contractor. Property owners who will be impacted will receive written notification prior to the staging and construction. Currently, the project should go out to bid in May and funds are from FEMA (90%) and the state (10%).

C. Cavendish Capital Budget: Jason Rasmussen of the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission spoke to the board about the Cavendish Capital Budget Plan that he and Rich Svec, town manager, have been working on. This is basically a six-year plan for town utilities and facilities improvements, upgrades, replacements (e.g.water and sewer, solid waste, buildings etc.) and can serve as an important companion piece for this section of the Cavendish Town Plan.  The Board was asked to review the document. The Planning Commission will also review it and a copy will be made available to the public prior to a hearing projected for May. With the completion of the hearing, the SB will need to adopt the plan.

D. Proposed Regional Transportation Projects Priority: Rasmussen forgot to bring the priority list with him, but will e-mail it to the SB and has requested that board members provide their priorities as soon as possible as the Regional Planning Council will be voting on this Tuesday March 18. A top priority is the replacement of the Depot Street Bridge in Proctorsville.

E. Review of Town Meeting: Three areas of concern were addressed:

• Cavendish Recreation Department: Svec has received a number of comments about the Rec Department. Many voters did not understand the article and many thought it would be voted on by Australian ballot. Some voters have requested that it be separated from the rest of the budget and be voted on by Australian ballot next year. In order for this to happen, someone will need to make this request. This can be done from the floor of Town Meeting.

The SB discussed how to implement the program, as well as performance standards by which its effectiveness can be measured. It was agreed that the director, or athletic director position reports to the town manager and it needs to be advertised like any town job opening. Other discussion has been postponed until the April SB meeting. The program becomes operational July 1 with the new town budget.

• Surplus Funds: The SB approved immediate release of funds ($8,000) for the new duel fuel furnace system for the town garage. Funds ($30,000) for the Town Highway Capital Equipment Fund will be needed in May, while the surplus of $32,407, to reduce the amount needed to be raised by taxes for FY 2014-2015, will take effect in July.

• Tax Exemption for a Portion of Fletcher Farm: New Selectmen Wendy Reiger raised the question as to whether the Fletcher Farm Foundation’s renting one of its buildings for seasonal workers at Okemo was in accordance with their non profit status and if not, the town shouldn’t exempt that portion of the Foundation’s taxes. Svec will begin to make inquiries into this.

F. Town wide Tag Sale: The SB approved the use of the village greens for the 4^th annual town wide tag sale to take place on Saturday, July 26. See article 3 for more information.

G. Sewer Issues: There have been very high sewer flows in the past few weeks, which have been tracked to a pipe in the Pratt Hill (Proctorsville) area. A 30-foot asbestos pipe, embedded in concrete was laid in 1977. Since then, there has been corrosion in the top and two holes were allowing sewage to drain out. Work has been done to stop the leakage, which has significantly decreased sewage flow. It’s important to note that sewage has not been leaking into the Black River. A permanent fix is being worked on and may involve replacement of a section of pipe this coming summer.

H. Newton Rd Area Disturbance: The Town office has received a number of complaints about a resident in the Newtown Rd/Twenty Mile Stream  area of Proctorsville who is target shooting with what is believed to be an automatic weapon. Because of the nature of the gun, neighbors are reluctant to confront the person. Svec will send a letter to the property owner addressing this issue. 

2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

Thank you to the many volunteers who came to help Pieter van Schaik last Saturday, March 8-Doug and Noah McBride, Justin and Thomas, Bill Barrows, Kem and Svetlana Phellps, Jon and Bev Owens, Bruce McEnaney, the O’Brien family, and Margo Caulfield. A special thank you to Julie of the Golden Stage Inn and Amanda Gross for the delicious baked goods.

Congratulations to Madi Huntley: Earlier this season, Cavendish resident and GMUHS senior, Madi Huntley reached the 1,000 points mark in basketball. The Vermont Basketball Coaches Association has named her to the annual senior all-star high school basketball game, which begins at 11 am this Saturday at Windsor High School. Go Madi Go!

Max Svec

Support for Max Svec’s Run: CTES and GMUHS alumni Max Svec is running the Boston Marathon to raise money for Camp Hole in the Wall, where he works as a Hospital Outreach Specialist. Max began working for Camp in 2011 as a videographer during the summer, and what started as a “typical video job” for him turned into something much more. Started by Paul Newman in 1988, Camp Hole in the Wall provides a place for children coping with serious illnesses. Max’s goal is raise money to make opportunities for more kids to attend the camp. Read more about Max’s amazing run.   

3. FOURTH ANNUAL CAVENDISH TOWN WIDE TAG SALE

With spring-cleaning getting underway, keep in mind that the 4^th Annual Cavendish Town Wide Tag Sale will take place on July 26 (Saturday) from 9-3pm. Both village greens are available for residents, property owners and Cavendish related organizations. All items must be removed at the completion of the sale along with any trash.

There will be both a print and on-line map of tag sale vendors. If you wish to be on the map, or would like to reserve a space at either the Cavendish or Proctorsville Greens, please e-mail margoc@tds.net or call 802-226-7807. To increase traffic to your site, it’s helpful if you can provide what you will have for sale.

4. PENGUIN HILL SKI TOW-PROCTORSVILLE

Did you know that Cavendish once had a ski area called the Penguin Hill Ski Tow? You can see a video of it on Vimeo.

Promoting Cavendish as a winter destination, an ad for Proctor-Piper Hotel and the Penguin Hill Ski Town (Stearns Gay, Manager) appears in the 1941 Vermont Year Book. Proctor Piper was the new name for the Cottage Hotel on the corner of Depot Street and Pratt Hill, which was renamed the Riverside Inn Hotel in 1944. 

The Penguin Hill Ski Tow sign hung on the corner of what was the Grange Hall (Route 131 and Twenty Mile Stream) directing skiers to the next property (Bidgoods) after the Grange Hall heading north on Twenty Mile Stream.

Thank you Pat Moore for posting to the Cavendish, VT Facebook page.

5. GETTING WHAT YOU NEED IN CAVENDISH: CHECKLIST UPDATED

The snow days were a good opportunity to update the Cavendish edition of “Getting What You Need Checklist for Those: Living with chronic condition; caregivers and/or seniors.  This edition includes a new section-“Aging in Place” and is available on-line at the Cavendish VT Blog. 

6. ANNUAL SUGAR ON SNOW SUPPER

The Annual Cavendish Baptist Church Sugar-on-Snow Supper, sponsored by the Helping Hand Class, will take place on Saturday, March 29^th, from 5:30 to 7 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 12. There is no charge for children under 6. The menu will include: baked beans (sweetened with maple syrup); ham; mashed potato; squash; peas; pickles; white and brown breads; and homemade doughnuts. Take out is also available. FMI: 226-7724

7. EVENTS

This week, the following activities will be taking place:

• Dinner and a Movie at the Cavendish Library (3/15, Saturday): The Cavendish Fletcher Community Library will host “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” at 2 pm. A generous sampling of Moroccan food will be served.  The event is free and open to the public of all ages, though donations are welcome.  FMI: 226-7503

• Happy St. Patrick’s Day! (3/17, Monday)

-       GMUHS baseball begins

• CTES Board Meeting (3/18 Tuesday): 5:30 to 6:30 at the school

• Variety Show Registration due (3/20 Thursday): 3-4 pm at CTES. FMI: 226-7758

- Half Day at GMUHS

• No School for CTES and GMUHS (3/21, Friday): Staff inservice.

To learn more about upcoming events in Cavendish and surrounding towns go to:

• Events listed by month 

• Events listed by day 

To register an event